How an unarmed F-111 downed an enemy without firing a shot

The F-111 Aardvark didn't have a lot of air-to-air kills – it just wasn't designed to be in aerial combat. It was a supersonic nuclear bomber and recon plane. But a fighter it was not. What it did have was an electronic warfare variant that could help the Air Force control the skies in a particular battlespace. Unlike their combat-ready counterparts, these EF-111A Ravens didn't have defenses if they were attacked in the air.

So when the unarmed variant scored the only aerial kills in the history of the F-111, it was a memorable occasion.

Normally, it's just dropping bombs. Not this time.

(U.S. Air Force)

When the United States and its coalition allies launched Operation Desert Storm in 1991, it's safe to say it took Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Army and Air Force by surprise. The opening minutes surprised a lot of people, and no one more so than USAF pilot James Denton and Electronic Warfare Officer Brent Brandon – as well as the Iraqi Mirage pilot who was trying to shoot their two-seater EF-111A down.

The EF-111A Raven came under attack from an Iraqi Dassault Mirage Fighter in the first minutes of Desert Storm, Jan. 17, 1991. This was troubling for many reasons, most notably because the EF variant of the F-111 didn't have any means of protecting itself – it wasn't supposed to be an aerial fighter. But that was going to change, for at least this one and only time.

The EF-111A Raven variant.

(U.S. Air Force)

For the Iraqi, the EF-111A was a great target of opportunity. He had just evaded an F-15C and managed to enter through the screen of F-15 and F-16 fighters that were supposed to be escorting the EF-111A. The Iraqi attempted to shoot the Raven down with missiles, but well-timed chaff and flares took care of the enemy incoming. When missiles didn't work, the Mirage switched to guns. Brandon switched from countermeasures to piloting skills.

The EF-111A was originally flying just 1,000 feet above the desert floor, so Denton decided to take it lower and use the plane's terrain-following radar to stay above the desert and not fly into the ground. The Iraqi pilot wasn't so lucky. As Denton and Brandon tag-teamed their way above the terrain, Denton saw his opportunity, banking hard into a climb that took him well above the desert. The Iraqi, so focused on his target and not the dark terrain below, slammed hard into the ground, exploding into a fireball that lit up the night.

It was the first F-111 aerial kill in the airframe's history. It would end up being the only aerial kill for the F-111, and it was done without so much as a weapon fired from the American plane.